My Tenure is Over

Stopping after a hard brake event to get everything stood back up sucks. Especially climbing the side of the trailer to get to the top. Finding one with a broke leg after a hard stop, while working for a company that makes you buy what wont walk off really sucks
................learning to keep your distance is easier and cheaper

 

If I was hiring and you told me you had a few minor crashes and was fired for following too close I would escort you from the property.
Man either learn how to drive better, or word things better. Ya know.
Perception is reality, and I would perceive you to be someone I would not want driving my truck.
Take it as you want. You got to clean things up.

 

I agree but To be fair, he said he was cut off.....several times. I know the point is moot because he put himself in the position to be cut off......several times. I’m just sayin’

What happens with those collision avoidance radar systems that slows the truck down when someone takes your left front fender off after they pass you. Is that a hard braking event?

 

No, if the cms kicks the brakes on there is no hard brake. However the cms can only control the brakes if cruise is on so one has to ask - why was cruise control on in heavy traffic or why didn't you anticipate the idiot?

Following events used to be within 4 seconds for 2 minutes - darned hard to trip. The new cms has it within 2 seconds for 30 seconds - much easier to violate in traffic. However if you get to 2 seconds, the counter resets.

A story I tell my trainees-

A driver is brought in to talk about critical events and starts with "its not my fault its the truck". Safety guy starts going thru the incidents and each one got either "its not my fault its the truck" or "its not my fault, I dr9ve to avoid the accident". After 30 minutes of this safety guy loses his cool and barks "dude - we are checking the truck right now but I'll tell you they 're not going to find anything wrong. We've owned tht truck for 3 years and it has had 17 critical events. You've been it 3 months and you've racked up 14. It's you and your driving style"

 

Sigh.

Critical braking events.

Heavy's School of Critical braking.

1- Idenfity badly effed up problem in front in bad traffic at speed.

2- all four lanes of interstate slams on brakes at the same time. Not just stopping but all of them noses dragging on pavements trunks high in the air kind of braking.

And there you are fixing to take out 50, hurt 30 kill 20 and be looped as a murderer trucker from hell for three months.... in about 8 seconds. (At 70+ its not much time.) by the way your 40 foot container has a grossweight on your entire POS tractor trailer at about 118000.

Slam your service pedal to the floor and mash it there. Disregard the air supplies going out faster than a 20.00 bill towards a drug dealer. FIND clear pavement any where you can. Even if it is natural stone on a slope off the shoulder. You already know you are going to set that poor truck anywhere but there.

You also know half of your tires have been destroyed during the stop and the rest too damaged to bother with replacing. Your triaxle container tires are no good anyway half the time. You snapped a u joint when the engine stalled out when you finally dragged the drives at zero to negative RPM hopping because in your terror you forgot to take her out of gear.

Still 3 seconds to impact. This is the time to get a rabbit, still 28 mph. Your container back there has made irrevocable rumbling as your stacked carboys full of ball bearings tumble. You see impressions of the balls bulging the front container wall through your back window.

You ended up jackknifing the truck to force it to not hit anything or anyone.

This was a actual stop I had to pull on 95 in Maryland. in 1989.

The rubber from all tires except steers which themselves were forced out of sidewall integrity when I forced the tractors front end around on dry pavement... were on the highway surface 9 months. Nice and glorious black for about 340 feet.

We did not have a safety in that company in that partciualr employer. IF we did and that person barked it would only be a short drive towards Maryland House to stand on shoulder and show him the rubber to go with the damaged tires all of which were replaced. Half by the shipping company on three triaxles (They were bald anyway) and the rest on the tractor at 3000 dollars.

If you are going to stop and lives depend on it, I hope that you have always made room for soemthing like that. To hurt someone to kill someone or damage anyone's property except your own company truck is a fail.

 

I used to work for Swift and I swear that after 7 months, that camera just became extremely sensitive. The camera will record when I did a 10mph right hand turn on green light. It was killing me as well.

 

Get your doubles/triples and tank while you are at it. I never thought I would need a tank endorsement but we carry these containers that are like 500 gallons in the trailer and they require a tank endorsement. Sorry if I missed it if it had been asked but are you auto restricted?